Can you tell us a little bit more about Pre-Loved Podcast and your motivation for starting this?

I’d love to! Pre-Loved Podcast is a weekly interview show about rad vintage and second-hand style, with guests you’ll want to go thrifting with.

I started Pre-Loved Podcast because I’m very passionate about conscious fashion, both for environmental and ethical reasons. There are some absolutely brilliant resources out there these topics, and I’ll give nod to a few of these great resources throughout this chat. But, the way I personally approach conscious fashion in my own life is through shopping second-hand. And I couldn’t find a podcast that was dedicated specifically to vintage and second-hand style, so I decided I would make it!

I want to demonstrate the ways second-hand style can be both stylish and important.

What do you think is so special about cultivating an audio space/community and the way it allows you to connect with guests in comparison to other digital mediums?

I chose podcasting because it was important to me that the show could be global. Just in our eight episode first Season, we chatted with guests in Sydney, London, Los Angeles, the Bay Area of California, New York and more. And it absolutely blows my mind that we have Pre-Loved Pod listeners in every continent of the world!

To give that some context, I’m located in Iowa, right in the heartland of the Midwestern United States. I love the Midwest and my community of amazing thrifty friends here. But I wanted the show to be bigger than it could be if I needed to be in-person to connect with interviewees -- like mediums like video, for example, would require.

Also, I think podcasting is a great medium for topics that have both educational and entertaining content. Pre-Loved Pod is very chatty and friendly -- or at least, that’s the feel I want the show to have. I’m not saying it’s unserious, but we go at the topic of pre-loved things in a very approachable and accessible way. Podcasting is the perfect medium for learning, and changes hearts and minds, all the while being entertained.

Can you share with us how your love for thrifting and pre-loved clothes began?

I first started shopping second hand in college because it was fun and what my budget could afford! When my now-husband and I first met, thrifting together was one of our favourite things to do. We learned a ton about each other digging through the thrift stores. I fell for thrifting hard and fast, and began to really favour vintage clothing over anything new.

But then, like so many others in the conscious fashion community, I watched The True Cost and it totally changed my relationship to fashion. That's when second-hand clothes became my whole wardrobe and I realised I could make a significant human rights impact by buying pre-loved clothes, exclusively.

Why was it important for you, the in this current climate of fashion, to showcase people who are going to lengths to embrace pre-loved and second-hand fashion?

My love of pre-loved things holds hands with my passion for conscious consumerism. These two parts of me are very intertwined.

After I watched The Trust Cost, next I read, Elizabeth Cline’s book Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, which gave me an amazing foundation for the issues of our fashion climate. Then I discovered Ethical Writers & Creatives, a network of bloggers, podcasters, vloggers, photographers, influencers and other creatives who seek to improve the world with their work. The deeper I went down this path of conscious consumerism, the more hungry I became for more information.

I discovered some favorite podcasts, including:

Conscious Chatter, Kestrel Jenkin’s podcast about fashion supply chains and how they impact people and the environment
Wardrobe Crisis, Clare Press’s podcast about the fashion system, and the ethical, sustainability, consumerist, and activist issues it faces
Green Dreamer, Kaméa Chayne’s podcast about how to cultivate sustainability in all areas of your life.

It’s when I started listening to podcasts on this topic that the idea of Pre-Loved Podcast came to me. I’ve always been a writer, a reader, and a storyteller, so the more I learned, the more I desired way to ask more questions and share what I was learning with others.

Can you share with us some tips on how you thrift? What are some things you look out for?

I read something on tommie mag recently that resonated with me so much --- "wardrobe minimalism, with a maximalist aesthetic.” That’s me when I thrift, for sure! I look for colour, for pattern, and for anything that makes a statement. It’s usually a print or a colour that catches my eye when I’m scanning the racks. The biggest thing is defining your style -- maybe save photos of things you like -- and then scanning just for what fits your look and feel.

What is it about shopping second-hand in comparison to buying new that you love so much?

Finding something second-hand is so special and unique! I remember every item I buy second-hand, who was with me when I purchased it, and the unique stories behind those pieces. There’s this special feeling that comes with second-hand shopping, when you find a piece that’s totally your style -- say a beautiful, bohemian, printed vintage dress. And that piece could be 40 years old, it could be handmade, anything. But if you find a piece that’s your style and it fits you, it’s just this magical moment when you feel like magic has really found you.

How do you think you and your guests embrace personal style by dressing pre-loved?

Every guest that comes on Pre-Loved Podcast has second-hand shopping in common, but they each have their own completely unique sense of personal style. I see people dressing second-hand whose style is minimalist, or maximalist, or bohemian, or retro, or modern with a twist -- really everything under the sun. I think when you’re styling pieces no one else has, it automatically makes your look very personalised.

What’s something you’ve learnt so far from a Pre-Loved Podcast guest?

I love all my podcast guests and learn such gems from all of them! But, in our first season, Annette from the blog A Vintage Splendor joined us, and she is just a wealth of information about vintage shopping. She is the person you want to teach you all her tricks about finding the best vintage. And we’re all in luck because she has a ton of vintage guides over on her blog -- everything from how to style vintage t-shirts, to how to select a great pair of vintage Levi’s.

What can we look forward to on the next season of Pre-Loved Podcast?

We’ve got an amazing slate of guests lined up. We return to the air January 21st with Michelle Raven of @whenthriftersthrift. I’m excited to say we’ll be featuring Beth Jones of BJones Style, who is our most requested Pre-Loved Podcast guest so far! We’ll also interview Kime Buzzelli, a vintage store owner and ‘creative woman with a conscience’; Richard Wainwright of A Current Affair vintage fair; Alex Van Os of Op Shop to Runway and many more! We’re featuring everyone from vintage sellers to flea market organisers to fashion business owners, and more. We’ll talk about personal expression, sustainability, running a fashion business, and why we all choose second-hand things first. Subscribe in your podcast app, and follow me on social media at @brumeanddaisy to stay up to-date with all the goings on at #PreLovedPod throughout this season.

The Podcast you should all be listening to: Pre-loved podcast - a show about rad vintage and second-hand style by, Emily Stochl.